Recording Artist, Actress, Entertainer. Regarded as one of the finest female vocalists of her generation, she began her musical career singing as a member of the New Hope Baptist Church junior gospel choir. She is credited with inspiring the successful musical careers of Mariah Carey, Beyoncé and Jennifer Hudson among others. She was discovered at a local New York City nightclub by former Arista Records president Clive Davis, where she performed as a backup vocalist for her mother Cissy Houston. In February 1985 her debut album "Whitney Houston" was released to the general public, eventually reaching the top spot in the album charts, where it remained for a record 14 consecutive weeks. The album produced three number one Billboard Top 100 singles "Saving All My Love for You," "How Will I Know" and "You Give Good Love," with sales topping 25 million copies worldwide. Two years later, her second album "Whitney" became the first album by a female to debut at the top of the Billboards 200 albums list. She made her motion screen debut in 1992 opposite Kevin Costner in "The Bodyguard." Her other screen credits include "Waiting to Exhale" (1995), "The Preacher's Wife" (1996), "Cinderella" (1997), and "Sparkle" in post-production at the time of her death. She was the recipient of two Emmy Awards and six Grammy Awards. Her other notable accomplishments included 30 Billboard Music Awards, seven consecutive number one hit single releases, 22 American Music Awards and several platinum selling albums. By the end of 2009 she had sold an estimated 170 million records. Her meteoric rise to stardom was overshadowed by widely publicized bouts of substance abuse, and allegations of domestic violence during her nearly 15 year marriage to singer Bobby Brown. She was found lifeless in her room at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles, California, one day before the 54th Annual Grammy Awards telecast. (bio by: Nils M. Solsvik Jr.)